The Scarlet Pimpernal | Classics Club

She tried even at times to curb the sarcastic, bitter thoughts of him, which made her—in spite of herself—say cruel, insulting things, which she vaguely hoped would wound him.  Yes! she often wished to wound him, to make him feel that she too held him in contempt, that she too had forgotten that she had almost loved him.

This was over the top dramatic. The drama my oh my. The flowery descriptions. The cunning plots. Despite being incredibly cheesy in parts, I found it incredibly enjoyable to read, entertaining, quick and with likeable characters.

I expected the main character to be the Scarlet Pimpernel, instead its told from the viewpoint of a popular french noblewoman, Marguerite. At first I disliked her, she is very shallow and hoity-toity. But as the story progressed I found her more likeable, so if you are tempted to put down this book because of her, I’d encourage you to keep reading.

Summary

A well conceived heist story set during the French Revolution featuring a roguish and witty (extremely witty, the author made a point of mentioning that multiple times) cast of characters, primarily The Scarlet Pimpernel. The leaders of the French Revolution are in a frenzy trying to track down the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel who somehow manages to whisk French Aristocrats doomed to the guillotine right out from under their very noses. Meanwhile, French socialite, Marguerite faces several dilemmas significantly larger than choosing which dress to wear to the ball when an old “comrade” approaches her seeking her help (aka coerces her) to help him discover the true identity of the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel.

Pros

The plot in this story is fast-paced and intriguing! I love a good heist story and this one did not disappoint.

The characters despite being a tad too dramatic were intriguing in their own way. At first I really disliked Marguerite but as the story progressed I grew to like her more and more. She’s put in a very difficult moral dilemma, choosing between saving a stranger or her own brother. In the beginning the author does a good job describing how deep her relationship with her brother is (which helped endear her to me, not enough books do a good job describing the bond between siblings in my opinion). In some stories I read it and I’m not able to understand why the main character makes the decision they did. I find myself judging them for making poor choices as sometimes the alternative choice seems so obvious. In this story however, I didn’t see any good alternatives that Marguerite had, so her actions made sense. They weren’t admirable, but I was able to sympathize with her and I didn’t feel like there was an “easy out” she could have taken to resolve her dilemma.

This book was originally published as a play which makes complete sense. How the chapters are set up feel like “scenes” in a play and the dialogue, settings, plot all flow more like they would in the theater versus a typical book.

Cons

They mention how witty Marguerite is nearly every page. There were also multiple descriptions of her “childlike blue eyes” and her “childlike laugh” and blast it, nearly everything about her was childlike! To my modern ears it sounds very offensive to call an adult childlike, but apparently it was meant to be endearing? Anyways I found it very condescending and silly sounding.

I did not appreciate how she described Jews in this book, I found it very disgraceful. I understand she was reflecting the stereotypes of the time perhaps, but all I can say is those stereotypes were awful.

Most over-the-top quotes

…the tie when first he worshipped her; he seemed so devoted—a very slave—and there was a certain latent intensity in that love which had fascinated her.  Then suddenly that love, that devotion, which throughout his courtship she had looked upon as the slavish fidelity of a dog, seemed to vanish completely.

He was but a man madly, blindly, passionately in love, and as soon as her light footsteps had died away within the house, he knelt down upon the terrace steps, and in the very madness of his love he kissed one by one the places where her small foot had trodden, and the stone balustrade there, where her tiny hand had rested last.

That quote had me laughing out loud. It was definitely written for the stage, I can imagine the actor dramatically throwing himself on the stairs at the end of this scene. It makes me want to watch the play, that would be fun.

Did Megan Whalen Turner draw inspiration for The Thief?

This quote made me think of Eugenides from The Thief. I strongly suspect that Sir Percy Blakeney may have been inspiration for his penchant for ostentatious clothing.

…exquisite luxury, so dear to Sir Percy Blakeney’s heart, and by the time they all landed at Dover he had found time to get into some of the sumptuous clothes which he loved, and of which he always kept a supply on board his yacht.

This particularly reminds me of a couple of scenes in The King of Attolia and Conspiracy of Kings where Sophos and the other characters regularly comment on the over the top styles Eugenides chooses to clothe himself in.

Final Thoughts

An entertaining book with over-the-top dramatic flourishes, plot twists, and romance.

This is part of my list of classics for The Classics Club! Check out my full list here. For more info on the club, click here.